FATHER, SON REBUILD OLD FARM TRACTOR

Eddie Wasson of Scott City hopes there are no leftover parts to his 1946 International Farmall tractor. He's a little uneasy about having taken apart the tractor -- engine and all to restore it to its original look.

"I definitely don't want to end up like Tim the Tool Man Taylor," he said, referring to a sitcom starring comedian Tim Allen as a handyman.

Wasson's anxiety should subside once the project is complete this summer. He and his 11-year-old son, Farrell, spend weekends rebuilding the tractor to use in antique tractor shows and pulls.

The pair started after Thanksgiving by spreading the engine parts out in a friend's barn along County Road 653 in Cape Girardeau County. They work every available weekend, which should be more frequent that the weather is getting warmer.

They know it will take "scraping and degreasing" and plenty of elbow grease on their part to restore the tractor to its original shine.

They don't get to spend a lot of "quality" time together because Eddie often works long hours as manager of the Sav-A-Lot grocery store in Cape Girardeau, but this project is something they both enjoy. Farrell attends St. Joseph School and often competes in rodeos.

Both father and son are avid tractor collectors and like to compete in antique tractor pulls. They are members of the club at Egypt Mills and often drive the tractors in parades.

Farrell's first toy was a tractor, and he's collected them since. He's even got a room devoted only to tractors.

"My dad worked around tractors so I grew up in the implement business," Eddie said. His father worked at a Sikeston shop, where Eddie would come after school.

It wasn't until his own son was born he realized how much the tractors appealed to him. He likes restoring the tractors because it's a way of keeping the tradition going.

"Farmers used these in the '40s and '50s," he said. "Some are even still in use." But nowadays tractors are much more modern and require computer equipment for repairs.

Mike Engelmann helps the Wassons. He owns several tractors, both old and new, and seldom does his own repairs to the newer tractors. "I'd never try to do much to it, it takes too much special equipment," he said.

But the beauty of restoring antique is that everything is simplified. There aren't computerized parts or settings. There are no special parts and most parts a person needs can easily be found, either from a junk yard or salvage yard.

Finding a tractor to restore and the parts is simple, Engelmann said.

"It's just like catching fish, it's just where they happen to be," he said.

The Wassons found their tractor by way of a relative in Swinton, but they also have another old Farmall model they discovered hidden away in the brambles of a fence row.

"You can find them in a field or in the back of a barn or a backyard," Engelmann said. He's even heard of people who found enough pieces and parts to put together a tractor.

The Wassons use Engelmann's barn because he owns the tools they need and it makes their work easier. They spread out their wares wrenches, screwdrivers and other assorted hand tools -- at the edge of the shed where the tractor is stored.

Eddie uses a wrench to tighten some parts. "We're just doing this by guess and by golly," Engelmann said.

When the men get in a bind, members of the Egypt Mills Antique Tractor Club offer assistance. "It's about friendship," Eddie said.